I recently reread one of the best books for authors, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. It’s not that Stephen King is my favorite author, it’s just a marvelous book and exceptionally well written. King not only gives great advice, but tells the story of how his writing developed, all in his own very direct style, the story being the driving force.
Those who’ve read Stephen King, and many who haven’t, have opinions of his writing ranging from genius to hack. I think he’s a great story teller. Others obviously agree: over seventy of his novels and other stories have been turned into films or TV shows. Some would say that this mass appeal itself is an indicator of low quality, but I think it is stunning that King has been able to produce so much work, so consistently, for so many years, with such popularity. If I can tell my stories half as well, I’ll be lucky.
Let me focus on just a few bits of advice from On Writing that were the strongest take-aways for me this time.
Read a lot. Write a lot. This one piece of advice is at the same time the most inspiring and damning thing for my writing, for I do not read enough. Reading is hard, my mind wanders so constantly, and I have to force myself to do it. King might say that someone like me should not even try to write, but I soldier on with both the reading and the writing. The writing is good for me. The reading may be even better. And there are stories that eventually grab me and take me away. It’s worth the work to get there.
Be honest. This advice is so broad and so monumental that it looms over all I write. Part of it is making the stories as alive on paper as they are in my head. Part of it is imagining characters and situations that are real enough that a reader can empathize with someone who is a figment of my imagination. Both of these parts are impossible ideals. The joy is in approaching them.
Write the first draft with the door closed, the second with the door open. King advises against getting feedback before the first draft is complete. I am too needy, though. I ask my wife to read one thing or another almost every day. But I was impressed with this dictum as I read it this time and I am trying write the first draft without immediate feedback and just get the story out. I think there’s confidence that goes with this that makes me a better writer, that makes my writing more honest.
Adverbs are not your friends. It’s a simple idea, but it’s hard to write without them. Most of it happens for me like King says it happens for him, at the editing stage. I read through the text and look for adverbs to cut. It’s hard to do. When it’s finished, though, I find that I’ve lost no essential meaning. The story reads better. It’s almost like magic.
Write every day. King writes 2000 words a day. With that level of output, he can write 180,000 words in three months, the maximum time he suggests for getting a first draft of a story out. Longer than that, King says, and it can grow stale and the writer can lose motivation. I have a job and don’t have time to produce 2000 words a day, so I shoot for 1000. That takes two to three hours. It’s a major commitment of time; big enough to be scary, in fact, as I wonder sometimes whether what I am writing is worth all the time. I enjoy those hours, though. The stories mean something to me. I think that’s part of the honesty that King values so highly. I do have a question, though. How does editing fit into King’s 2000 words-a-day work schedule? Is it extra, or is editing 2000 words just as much work as the original writing? I suspect it’s the latter. At least, it seems to be that way for me.
Let the first draft sit for at least six weeks before you start on a second draft. I have done this before, and I have come back to it with new eyes and new appreciation for what works in the story and what doesn’t. It takes time to get that kind of separation. Besides, in those weeks of waiting, there are always more stories.
I’m sure that the next time I read On Writing—and I will read it again—different things will stand out for me. Classics are good that way.